


Gang Life

by KwanMarkhyuck



Category: ATEEZ (Band), GOT7, NCT (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band), Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), The Boyz (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - High School, Amnesia, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gangs, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Happy Ending, Knives, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Pining, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Smut, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Temporary Amnesia, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29075916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KwanMarkhyuck/pseuds/KwanMarkhyuck
Summary: “We’re not going on a mission; we’re forming an alliance.” Seonghwa stated, roughly, smoothening the stray strands of hair from his face before placing the black cap on his head once more. Wooyoung thought he looked much more intimidating this way ~ only his eyes showing, bright like molten magma ready to burst.“What? With who?” Yunho asked in disbelief and Seonghwa walked to the door, knocking on the metal in a pattern. Tap, tap, tap-tap, tap, tap-tap, tap. Seonghwa glanced back at the trio still standing next to their bikes and gestured them forward, seeing them do so almost unwillingly.“You’ll see.” Seonghwa said and the door swung open, Seonghwa taking it within himself to waltz inside and greet the darkness, eyes calculating and cold. The other three took hesitant steps forward, warily watching as the door behind them slammed shut.(Alternately: When an alliance joins together the two gangs, Horizon and Illusion, everything starts sliding downwards into chaos. An old enemy comes back from Horizon's past and Illusion has to grapple with their own demons, ranging from the tortures of Wooyoung's parents and San's little secret)
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Moon Hyungseo | Kevin, Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Chanhee | New/Ji Changmin | Q, Choi Jongho/Kim Hongjoong, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Ju Haknyeon/Lee Juyeon, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Jung Wooyoung/Choi San, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kang Yeosang/Park Seonghwa, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Moon Taeil, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Sunwoo/Son Youngjae | Eric, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam & Kim Yugyeom, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK, Lee Chan | Dino/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, Liu Yang Yang/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, Qian Kun/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jung Wooyoung ~ Treasure
> 
> Choi San ~ Twilight
> 
> Park Seonghwa ~ Desire
> 
> Kang Yeosang ~ Answer
> 
> Kim Hongjoong ~ Win/Thanxx
> 
> Song Mingi ~ Inception
> 
> Choi Jongho ~ Destiny
> 
> Jeong Yunho ~Promise
> 
> Seonghwa’s team ~ Illusion
> 
> Hongjoong’s team ~ Horizon
> 
> All eight ~ Ateez

The boy across the classroom caught Wooyoung’s attention; hooking it around his finger and pulling him in. He had a harsh jawline, bright eyes, slanted lips and he looked like he would have a nice smile if he used his facial muscles. Wooyoung noticed a bruise on his cheek, just below his eyes and resting on his cheekbone; it looked relatively new to him and he couldn’t help but lean in slightly closer to examine it, not noticing the way his best friend was watching him in amusement. His best friend, Kang Yeosang, sat back and watched as Wooyoung leaned in too much and toppled off his chair and onto the floor, a loud thump echoing off the classroom walls. Jeong Yunho, who had just walked in, took one look at Wooyoung and the others in the room that were snickering and sighed.

“I thought you said you were going to tell him when he was being stupid.” Yunho muttered and Wooyoung kicked Yunho’s chair away right as Yunho went to sit down. The older simply chuckled and took Wooyoung’s chair, spinning it back around the right way and sat down on it, leaving Wooyoung to groan out in annoyance, head falling against the wooden floor with a bang. He was reminded that the others in the classroom thought he was a nerd and useless when they continued to laugh and snicker, whispering harsh things about him as if Wooyoung wasn’t still in the classroom.

“Woo ~” A voice chimed from the doorway and everyone fell silent. Park Seonghwa, Wooyoung’s almost-brother walked into the room and stopped at Wooyoung’s side. Wooyoung felt his eyes slid shut and ignored how Seonghwa’s eyes travelled around the room menacingly. “Oh, no need to stop harassing him when I’m in the room, guys, say whatever you like.” Seonghwa snapped and Wooyoung laughed at Seonghwa before spinning around, feet hooking underneath Seonghwa’s left leg and he tugged ~ Seonghwa’s figure tumbling to the floor, just about catching himself before his face could smash into the hard wood. Seonghwa clenched his jaw as Wooyoung gracefully jumped to his feet.

“I don’t need you protecting me, Seonghwa. I can do that just fine if you haven’t noticed.” Wooyoung said and Seonghwa gritted his teeth together, glaring up at Wooyoung. 

“That’s hyung to you, Jung Wooyoung.” Seonghwa forced out through his pearly white teeth. Wooyoung heard his friends snicker behind his back and he giggled, reaching forward and taking Seonghwa’s hands, pulling him to his feet.

“Sure, hyung. What are you here for?” Wooyoung asked. Seonghwa sent a dark look his way and Wooyoung got the gist of what Seonghwa was trying to convey.

“We have a mission straight after school, Woo, do not be late; your bike will be out front.” Seonghwa hissed in his ear and Wooyoung nodded, his lips pursed as Seonghwa’s intense gaze locked with his. “Don’t be late this time, Woo, I’m serious, people could die this time.” Seonghwa whispered harshly and Wooyoung nodded again, lips pulling down at the corners just as Seonghwa turned and marched away, back ramrod straight.

~/~/~

Wooyoung exited the school with Yeosang and Yunho in tow, the two spread out on both his sides. Wooyoung shoved his way through the crowd of people and to the front of the school, seeing just exactly why everyone was so interested ~ Seonghwa was sat on one of the black bikes, black sunglasses covering his eyes. Yeosang laughed shyly at Seonghwa and walked up to him, placing a kiss on his cheek before climbing onto the back of one of the three motorbikes laid out in front of them, putting his arms around Seonghwa’s thin waist.

Yunho took the far right whilst Wooyoung walked forward, opening up his bag and stripping his pink sweater and nerd glasses that had the stupid tape in the middle ~ as much as missions paid them, glasses cost a lot of money and contact lenses cost even more. Wooyoung tucked his white shirt into his ripped jeans and pulled over his black biker jacket, covering the tattoo on the base of his forearm. Yunho climbed onto his bike and Wooyoung did the same, sending a smirk to the audience as he revved the bike, sensing the boy that had caught his attention looking at him and then he swerved around and sped off, the others close on his heals.

~/~/~

“I lied.” Was the first thing Seonghwa said when they pulled in front of the abandoned building, the four pulling black hats over their heads and black masks over their face, only their eyes being seen. “We’re not going on a mission; we’re forming an alliance.” Seonghwa stated, roughly, smoothening the stray strands of hair from his face before placing the black cap on his head once more. Wooyoung thought he looked much more intimidating this way ~ only his eyes showing, bright like molten magma ready to burst. 

“What? With who?” Yunho asked in disbelief and Seonghwa walked to the door, knocking on the metal in a pattern. Tap, tap, tap-tap, tap, tap-tap, tap. Seonghwa glanced back at the trio still standing next to their bikes and gestured them forward, seeing them do so almost unwillingly. 

“You’ll see.” Seonghwa said and the door swung open, Seonghwa taking it within himself to waltz inside and greet the darkness, eyes calculating and cold. The other three took hesitant steps forward, warily watching as the door behind them slammed shut.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet your fellow companions, Desire.” The male in the shadows said and the trio spun around in different directions, aiming their weapons at random places, hoping that where they aimed, they would hit the potential threat. Seonghwa paid them no mind, eyes focused up ahead. “I assume the choice of telling them beforehand did not come to mind? Otherwise, Treasure wouldn’t be pointing his gun at one of my men.” The man said and Seonghwa just regarded the voice with contempt, taking a few steps forward.

“You always were one for the dramatics, Win, now turn on these damn lights so my members can actually see who their allies are.” Seonghwa stated and Win chuckled to himself before telling another to turn the lights on and the yellow illuminated the room, showing that there were three others in the room standing, circling the four in the middle of the room. Wooyoung clicked the safety off his gun and aimed it at the male in front of him, warning him with his eyes to not come any closer. “Treasure, gun down now. Answer, Promise, you too.” Seonghwa said and Yunho and Yeosang lowered their weapons, stepping closer to Seonghwa. 

“Put them on the ground and kick them away.” Win demanded and Yeosang and Yunho did as they were told, kicking them to the corner of the room where the other trio picked them up, tucking them into their belts. “I suggest you talk to your companion, Desire, as they seem incapable of following a simple instruction.” Win scoffed out and Wooyoung noticed Seonghwa’s teeth gnashing together as he kept his gaze focused on Win.

“Treasure, I said put the gun down.” Seonghwa said, lowly and when Wooyoung didn’t make to move, Seonghwa trembled with anger. “NOW!” Seonghwa shouted and Wooyoung cocked the safety back on before forcefully throwing the gun at the wall next to one of the men’s faces, the gun splitting apart and some of it rained onto the latter’s shoulder.

“Happy now?” Wooyoung burst out, turning to Win and glaring right into his eyes. Win sat on a type of throne and the cockiness dripping off the male just made Wooyoung all the more so mad. He didn’t care who the male was, he had no right to be telling them what to do and how to do it. “Listen here, I don’t care who the fuck you are and I don’t give a damn if we’re joining together in an alliance ~ I’ll never ever follow you. You can’t order me around and you sure as hell can never get me to do anything for you.” Wooyoung growled and Win stared at him for a moment and then he started to laugh, getting to his feet. He glided to Wooyoung.

“You have a fire, I like that.” Win said, reaching up and Wooyoung felt the cold edge of a blade on his chin ~ Wooyoung hadn’t even noticed him pull it out. “You’re loyal too, something every gang needs. Now, all I need to know is … who are you?” Win whispered, hooking the blade around the part of the mask that was keeping the mask on his face and then Win was dragging it to the left, the string snapping. Wooyoung’s black mask fell off his face, revealing his identity. Wooyoung glared at him, not willing to give Win the satisfaction of watching him be nervous because Wooyoung had dealt with far more dangerous men than Win could ever imagine in his wildest dreams.

“Surprised?” Wooyoung hissed and Win chuckled before gliding to the others and doing the same to them, cutting the string and letting their masks drop to the ground, revealing the part of themselves that had been hidden from the world for so long. When Win arrived in front of Seonghwa and reached up, Seonghwa’s hand snapped upwards and he gripped the sharp knife, the edge digging into his skin and making his blood drip to the floor. Yeosang gasped, worried eyes scanning Seonghwa’s injury from a distant.

“You know the others identities, but mine isn’t one to take. You have to earn my trust and only then will you know who I am underneath this mask.” Seonghwa snarled. “And if you think you can forcibly take it, you are delusional, Kim Hongjoong.” Seonghwa gritted and Win’s eyes largened in size for a moment before he started to laugh and laugh. When he stopped, he placed the knife onto Seonghwa’s skin and not over the mask, but over his neck, just over his jugular artery, so that with a single cut, Seonghwa would be good as gone. Wooyoung and the other two crouched down, getting ready to attack.

“So, you know my real name. Do you think that gives you leverage?” Hongjoong asked and Seonghwa smirked at him for a moment. 

“I don’t think so, I know so. And it’s not the fact that I know your name, it’s the fact I know all of your names that gives me leverage. Kim Hongjoong, Choi San, Song Mingi and Choi Jongho. Unlike you, I did some digging into your lives and you, Kim Hongjoong, are a college dropout which is not surprising considering the type of things we do.” Seonghwa paused for dramatic effect. “But what I found interesting was that from 2014 onwards, you’re off the grid and, well, I see that the fact that these three are still with you means that you saved them during some time in their childhoods. Does the name Thanxx ring a bell?” Seonghwa asked and Hongjoong took a step backwards, staring at Seonghwa in shock.

“How do you know that name?” Hongjoong demanded and Seonghwa was the one laughing this time, drawing a haggard breath out of Hongjoong because Seonghwa kind of looked and seemed crazy to the other four.

“Because, Kim Hongjoong, I was one of those four you saved.” Seonghwa said before he ripped his mask off despite his earlier statement and Hongjoong stumbled backwards, eyes alight with an unknown light. Seonghwa giggled. “Don’t look so shocked, Joongie, I thought you knew that you were dealing with me? Three-year-old Hongjoong would give me a hug, but I’ve seen you’ve changed; obviously not in height, but in personality and exterior.” Seonghwa said. “You look good, Joong.” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong blinked at him before yanking his mask down until it was around his neck. The boy Wooyoung saw seemed no older than Seonghwa and even then, Seonghwa wasn’t that old ~ only a year difference between his other teammates.

“You should be dead.” Hongjoong told Seonghwa and Seonghwa raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the smaller, eyes narrowing. A deadly smile broke out across his face.

“I should.” Was all Seonghwa said and then he was grabbing Hongjoong’s weapon and chucking it at the male at the far corner. He just managed to move out of the way before it cut his ear off and Wooyoung chuckled at his wide-eyed look: just like the former, they had masks covering their noses, but they were blood red, indicating their power over others. Wooyoung thought the colour would suit him immensely. 

“Hey!” The male shouted, face twisting once he got over his shock and after a split-second decision, he charged at Seonghwa, aiming to tackle him to the ground, but he never got close for Yeosang delivered a scathing kick to his kneecap. The male stumbled onto his knees and Yeosang grabbed his arm, twisting it backwards and bringing out a knife from his boot. He placed it to the man's jaw, the knife digging into his skin, but not breaking the surface and drawing blood.

“Nuh-uh, pretty thing.” Yeosang whispered. “No one touches him and you’re foolish for thinking you could lay a finger on him whilst I’m around.” Yeosang spat, trailing the knife’s edge along the man’s jaw and down his throat, hovering over his main vein just like Hongjoong had done to Seonghwa previously. Seonghwa smirked at Hongjoong.

“Let him go, Sangie, baby.” Seonghwa said. Yeosang tucked the knife back into his boot and kicked the male away and the latter fell back against the floor, glaring up at Yeosang. He got to his feet and turned to Hongjoong, who was watching on with questioning eyes.

“I thought you said this was going to be an alliance and not them trespassing on our territory because it sure as hell seems like the second option.” He snarled and Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa, who shrugged, looking like he didn’t care what the others thought of himself and his crew.

“Twilight.” Hongjoong addressed and the male in the corner snapped to life, charging at Seonghwa just like the previous male. Wooyoung slid in between the male as Twilight brought a knife out and slashed it through the air, cutting through Wooyoung’s shirt and leaving a gash. Wooyoung heard Yunho gasp and he felt rage bottle up inside him, grabbing Twilight’s wrist and snapping it backwards, the knife tumbling out of his hand. He swung his legs underneath Twilight’s, but the male jumped out of the way and sent a high kick towards Wooyoung’s face. Wooyoung caught him by the ankle and threw it to the right, making Twilight lose his balance and stumble to the floor. 

“Watch it, Treasure, remember you’re still bleeding.” Yunho hissed despite them most likely recognizing their faces and Wooyoung ignored his friend, stomping on Twilight’s calve, the latter letting out a small exhale of pain. Wooyoung once again grabbed his ankle, pulling him closer and then he straddled his waist, hooking his wrists above Twilight’s head with one hand and using the other to yank down Twilight’s mask. He blinked in surprise when he saw who exactly was hidden behind it.

“You?” Wooyoung asked and Twilight smirked at him. It was the same boy from the classroom. Wooyoung could feel his shirt soaked through with his own crimson blood ~ he let out a small squeak when he was forcefully pulled off Twilight and spun around, rolling his eyes when he saw it was just Yeosang fussing over his wound. 

“Hongjoong.” Seonghwa said and Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa, grin faltering when he saw Seonghwa’s eyes alight with anger. “I thought we had an agreement that none of your members would harm mine.” Seonghwa growled and Hongjoong’s lips twisted downwards.

“You broke that when you chucked a knife at Inception.” Hongjoong frowned and Seonghwa rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t aiming to harm him. He could’ve easily dodged that and besides it’s not like you would’ve taken offense if one of your members did it to Song Mingi.” Seonghwa snapped and Hongjoong’s eyes narrowed into slits as he took a step forward, getting in Seonghwa’s face.

“No, I wouldn’t, but since you were an enemy not long ago, I consider my trust for you non-existent.” Hongjoong growled. Wooyoung watched them through hooded eyes, feeling his knees loose strength as his face began to grow vastly paler by the second. Yeosang seemed to notice this.

“Seonghwa.” Yeosang said quietly, but Seonghwa didn’t hear him, continuing to argue with Hongjoong over who was correct in breaking the agreement. Wooyoung felt the world start to spin. “Park Seonghwa, get your head out of your fucking ass!” Yeosang shouted and the duo froze, the whole room falling silent as Yeosang glared at Seonghwa. Yunho rushed forward and held Wooyoung up as he knees gave up whilst Yeosang strode forward and jabbed Seonghwa in the chest.

“Yeosang ~”

“Don’t you Yeosang me.” Yeosang snarled. “I don’t care what the fuck kind of past you have with him and whether or not you are best friends or not, but right now, one of your teammates ~ one of your brothers ~ is losing consciousness and you didn’t even notice because you’re too busy arguing with Win like two-year-olds.” Yeosang said and glanced back at Yunho. “Get Woo to base and fix his wounds; those seem worse than they look if he’s losing blood this fast. I’ll take Woo’s bike.” He instructed and Yunho nodded, picking Wooyoung’s pale figure up bridal style and carrying him past everyone, ignoring their looks. 

“Yeosang ~” 

“No.” Yeosang snapped, turning back to Seonghwa and glaring at him. “You’re going to stay here and work out whatever the fuck is going on between you two that is stopping us from forming a civil agreement and alliance. I’m going to go and check on my best friend and you are not going to come back until you’ve sorted this out.” Yeosang said, turning and striding to the door. Just as he was about to exit entirely, he glanced back at Seonghwa. “Oh, and you’re sleeping on the couch.” He stated, leaving the warehouse and the shocked face of the others behind him.

~/~/~

Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa as soon as Yeosang left, seeing the latter purse his lips. Then Seonghwa looked around the room quickly and made up his mind, rushing out of the door to where Yeosang was climbing onto Wooyoung’s bike. The other four could still hear them and see what was going on outside, so they watched, but tried not to make it too obvious that they were.

“Baby, listen to me.” Seonghwa pleaded and Yeosang ignored him, continuing to start up the bike, grabbing Wooyoung’s helmet. He was about to place it over his head when Seonghwa snatched it away. “Yeosang, please.” Seonghwa begged and Yeosang glanced at Seonghwa.

“Give me back the helmet, Park Seonghwa.” Yeosang said, coldly and Seonghwa folded his hands behind his back, the helmet being concealed from Yeosang’s vision. Yeosang sighed. “Seonghwa, give it back. We’ll talk about this later ~ not now with the allies that currently seem like enemies literally three feet away.” Yeosang said and Seonghwa took a step back, bringing the helmet with him.

“No, we can talk about it now.” Seonghwa said and Yeosang seemed to finally snap, leg slinging around the bike and he slid off the seat, so he was standing in front of Seonghwa. He was glaring right into his eyes.

“Fine, you want to talk, let’s fucking talk, okay?” Yeosang burst out. “Those two that are currently going back to base admire you, Seonghwa, fuck, they want to be you! Every single day, Wooyoung looks at you and asks the same questions; why can’t I be more like Seonghwa? Why can’t I be that brave? Why can’t I not be weak? Yunho does it too and all I have to say to them is that they can’t be like you and I wouldn’t want them to be. I wouldn’t want to be you, Seonghwa!” Yeosang snapped, making Seonghwa stare at him in surprise, confusion and hurt mixed all in one.

“What do you mean?” Seonghwa asked quietly.

“I mean that this façade you put on front of Wooyoung and Yunho may fool them, but not me. I’m your boyfriend, Seonghwa, I know when you’re hurting and when you feel broken, so don’t even try to act fine around me because it’ll never work.” Yeosang shouted, raising his voice which was something he never did often. “You act like you’re fine in front of your brothers, but don’t you think they deserve to know when you’re hurting? Especially after their experiences? You don’t take people into this kind of life without a reason and no matter how grateful I am that you got Wooyoung out of that shithole of a house and family, but Seonghwa, that friend that got his chest almost slashed open to protect you is my best friend. Mine! Not yours; I promised to protect him and I love you, Seonghwa, I really do, but when it comes to a match between you and Wooyoung, you better believe and not doubt that I’d pick Wooyoung. No matter how much it hurts me.” Yeosang said. Seonghwa nodded slowly, still trying to process what Yeosang was trying to say.

“I know.” Was all Soenghwa said and Yeosang sighed harshly.

“Do you really though, Seonghwa?” Yeosang demanded. “You started this whole entire thing and took in the weak kids that no one looked over once nor cared about and you made us something. Everything we thought was right was turned on its head and nothing was the same after you took us under your wing. We owe you our lives, sure, but not like this; not this way. Wooyoung doesn’t deserve this, not now and not ever. He’s suffered too much and I know, I’ve been friends with him and been by his side for six years before you came along, so don’t ~ never tell me what’s best for him and how he should run his life and how he should’ve never jumped in front of you and taking that hit. Because, I know, I know he shouldn’t have done that, but he did because you’re the parent figure he never had. The one he’s always wanted, no matter how many times he denies it and makes fun of you, he still loves you.” Yeosang explained, climbing back on the bike and Seonghwa watched him do it with an open mouth.

“I’m sorry.” Seonghwa said and Yeosang turned to look at him, eyes filled with tears that would never fall and Seonghwa knew as much because the man in front of him was the love of his life and he had never seen a tear fall before, despite the worse situations they had been confronted with. Yeosang was the strongest one out of all of them and Seonghwa would never fail to be amazed and dazzled by him every single day.

“Don’t. It wasn’t your fault that Wooyoung jumped in front of you to take the hit, but mine.” Yeosang said, simply, despite Seonghwa shaking his head. “You take too much stress and I never have once tried to take that weight off because I know you hate anyone seeing you vulnerable. I should’ve tried harder.” Yeosang said and smiled wetly, squeaking in shock when Seonghwa took a step forward and connected their lips, kissing Yeosang’s doubts and insecurities away.

“Let’s share the blame then.” Seonghwa whispered and Yeosang blinked at him in confusion. “You think it’s your fault and I think it’s mine. You told me to share some of my problems with you and this is one of them; the fact that my brothers and best friends are risking their lives for me overwhelms me, Sangie. So, I’ll tell you my problems and you’ll tell me yours, we’ll learn from this and grow.” Seonghwa said, quietly and Yeosang smiled softly at Seonghwa, hands coming up to caress his smooth, milky skin. 

“Okay,” Yeosang murmured and Seonghwa pecked his lips once more before pulling away from Yeosang and bringing his hands back around the front, the helmet coming with him.

“Go check on our baby.” Seonghwa said and placed the helmet over Yeosang’s head gently, snapping the visor down, so he could see Yeosang’s face clearly, loving the way Yeosang’s smile lit up his features. “Oh, and am I still sleeping on the couch?” Seonghwa asked, making Yeosang giggle.

“I’ll think about it,” Yeosang laughed, snapping the visor shut and revving the motorcycle before swinging it around to face the front and speeding off, heading to their headquarters to see how Wooyoung was faring. Seonghwa turned around and strode back to the other four, determined to set things right and prove to Yeosang that he wasn’t a two-year-old. 

~/~/~

The next time that all eight of them saw each other was the next day, which was fast considering how long planning things took in their line of work. They didn’t exchange numbers or anything even remotely mobile because Hongjoong’s team never ever had work associates connected to them on their devices in case of them getting hacked and tracked. So, due to that fact, everything had to be face to face and in either of their bases. It just so happened to be in Seonghwa’s headquarters that they were visiting this time and not the other way around.

“Relax, hyung.” Wooyoung said from where he was seated on the bed, covered up with his shirt off, bandages littering his torso. Yunho, who was beside him, snorted, snuggling closer to Wooyoung from where he was next to him, providing some more warmth for Wooyoung, who was shivering slightly due to his upper half being exposed to the cold. Yeosang himself was standing in the corner, arms folded as he mouthed words to himself, eyes lost as he stared at the door. Seonghwa himself was just as agitated, pacing back and forward across the room. He had managed to destroy the slight doubt and suspicion Hongjoong and his teammates had about him and had convinced them that in reality, they needed an alliance with a group just as desperate and strong as themselves and Horizon fit that category.

“They’re here.” A voice said and Seonghwa nodded at the camera’s positioned at the corners of the room on the ceiling, knowing that their tech, Kang Taehyun, would pick it up. The sound of the doors in the main room opening was heard even from so far away and Seonghwa knew it was only a matter of time before their presences would grace the four in all their glory. Just thinking about it made Seonghwa’s head hurt and he walked to Yeosang, wrapping himself around his lover with a frown.

“Seonghwa?” Yeosang whispered in confusion and Seonghwa exhaled slowly and deeply.

“I’m scared, Sangie.” Seonghwa murmured so the other two in the room couldn’t hear their conversation. In the background, they could hear Taehyun instructing Horizon around the building to where their team was residing, but paid the noise no mind. “I’m so scared.” Seonghwa repeated and Yeosang ran his fingers through the elder's hair, nodding slightly.

“So am I, hyung, but we’ve got each other. This will go perfectly and we’ll be fine.” Yeosang said, confidently and Seonghwa nodded too, pulling back.

“You’re right, we can do this!” Seonghwa stated, tugging Yeosang into his side and hooking his arm around the youngers shoulder, kissing his temple lightly ~ so lightly Yeosang almost didn’t feel it. Yeosang giggled and the sound brought a smile onto Seonghwa’s face.

“They’re outside the door, Boss.” Taehyun said and Seonghwa squeezed Yeosang’s shoulder before letting go of the male entirely. His gaze redirected itself to the door in front of him, watching it warily before he nodded to the camera’s in the corner of the room. 

“Let them in.” Seonghwa said. The locks clicked on the door and it slid open to reveal the faces of the other four, their faces no longer concealed by their blood red masks, features on full display. Wooyoung let out a shuddering breath and Yunho kissed the crown of his head, whispering something that Seonghwa couldn’t quite hear very well, but Yeosang seemed to for he smiled softly. “Hongjoong.” Seonghwa greeted and Hongjoong glanced at him before staring at Wooyoung and Yunho who were seated on the bed with interest. 

“Seonghwa.” Hongjoong replied, curtly. “Shouldn’t he be resting?” Hongjoong asked and gestured to Wooyoung, who was murmuring things to Yunho, that was making the taller giggle and laugh, rolling his eyes at certain things Wooyoung came up with. Wooyoung looked up when he felt Hongjoong talking about him and narrowed his eyes. 

“He never listens.” Seonghwa shrugged and Wooyoung stuck his tongue out at the elder, ignoring him when he rolled his eyes. Yeosang sighed from behind Seonghwa, muttering something about them being two-year-olds, which was absurd considering that Seonghwa was their leader and Wooyoung was high up in the system also. They were totally mature! Hongjoong frowned at them for a moment. 

“So, he just does whatever he wants?” Hongjoong inquired and Yunho laughed, airily, making the red-haired male look at him ~ Seonghwa recognized his face from his files ~ Song Mingi was his name. 

“Hyung gets tired of dealing with Wooyoung, so Yeosang does it instead.” Yunho told the four who just stared at him in confusion and slight question. “Okay, so remember that time when I got cold in the dorm and turned on the heater, but Woo couldn’t get to sleep because he was too hot even though he was in his underwear ~” 

“Too much detail!” Yeosang shrieked and Seonghwa chuckled when Yunho ignored him in favour of carrying on with his story. 

“And he didn’t want to wake Seonghwa up because he was sleeping, so he just turned the AC on and Seonghwa almost got a cold.” Yunho explained and Seonghwa turned to Wooyoung. 

“I remember that! Did you even ask Yeosang?” Seonghwa demanded and Wooyoung waved the thing away, making Yunho laugh quietly. 

“No. I don’t need to ask him.” Wooyoung stated, making Seonghwa raise an eyebrow in question, blinking at Wooyoung just like Yeosang was doing, tilting his head to the side. 

“Why?” Seonghwa questioned and Wooyoung grinned. 

“Because him and I are one. If I’m hot, so is he.” Wooyoung said, proudly and Yeosang choked on air, staring at Wooyoung with wide eyes whilst Yunho burst out into laughter, bringing Wooyoung closer and snuggling into him, nuzzling his cheek against Wooyoung’s soft hair. Seonghwa smiled gently because Wooyoung really was their precious baby of the group and was to be protected at all costs. 

“Damn.” Mingi muttered and his three teammates looked at him, shocked like they hadn’t expected him to talk. Wooyoung started to laugh at Mingi’s awed look as he stared at the duo. 

“As much as I love these types of moments of Wooyoung being a petty bitch, we have company, Boss.” A voice said and Seonghwa’s eyes snapped to the camera’s, a slight question in his eyes. “They’re here for you and they look like they won’t go away without a fight.” Yeonjun said and Seonghwa pursed his lips, glancing back at his teammates. 

“Show me them.” Seonghwa said and Taehyun’s voice was heard next, mildly annoyed and Seonghwa assumed it was because Yeonjun had stolen his moment. Especially in front of Horizon, which was a group just as well-known as them. 

“Of course, Boss.” Taehyun said. Seonghwa turned around as Taehyun worked on getting things ready. A small patch in the ceiling opened up, a small machine folding out, clicking to life. The projector was settled on the farthest wall and the picture that greeted them was not a friendly one and Yeosang gasped, taking a few steps forward. His eyes narrowed into slits, trying to discern if the picture was real or fake. 

“Is that ...?” Yeosang trailed off and Yunho looked past Yeosang, getting to his feet and peering at the picture. His face paled immensely. 

“My parents.” Yunho gasped and Seonghwa spun around the face the camera, mind being made up at the assumption and feeling he had been confirmed. Yunho’s parents were foul people, abusive and hurtful and Yunho had just barely made it out alive before his Appa could end his life, posing it as an accident. It was there, on the cobbled street, just outside of where Seonghwa’s previous headquarters was, that he met Yunho and decided to take him in. 

“Taehyun, I’m going to talk to them.” Seonghwa said, walking to Wooyoung’s bed and kneeling beside the furniture, pulling open the bedside drawer and pulling out a dagger. He tucked it into his boot ~ a place he had learnt from Yeosang, which was his lovers favourite place to hide weapons and then he straightened, kissing Wooyoung’s head. Wooyoung also had abusive parents and it had harmed him, scarred him way worse than Yunho and Seonghwa could see the effect this was having on the younger, his hands shaking slightly. 

“Seonghwa,” Yeosang whispered and he turned back to see Yunho on his knees, staring at the picture on the wall and Yeosang, kneeling beside him, arm wrapped around the taller reassuringly, so that Yunho knew he had other people by his side that would care about him and protect him from his demons. The ones he thought he had to face alone and the ones he thought would never go away. Yeosang gestured to the screen and that was when Seonghwa saw it. 

“We’ve come to take back what’s rightfully ours!” The older man shouted and Seonghwa saw what Yeosang was pointing to; the gun poorly hidden underneath his jacket. They had come to kill Yunho for their son knew way too much on what went behind the scenes. 

“Seonghwa.” Yeosang repeated and Seonghwa looked at Yeosang, who was gazing at him desperately. “Please, be careful.” He pleaded and Seonghwa nodded, running a hand through Wooyoung’s hair. 

“Don’t be scared, little one.” Seonghwa whispered and Wooyoung looked up at him, face pale and clammy and then he nodded. Seonghwa smiled and turned around, seeing the other four in the room looking surprised and lost, stepping out of the way like they knew they were only going to get in the way if they got involved. “Taehyun, Yeonjun, shut it off and once I’m out of this room, lock the door. I don’t care if I get shot or injured or killed out there ~” Yeosang’s breath caught at that, but Seonghwa carried on like he didn’t hear the other male. “You never open the door until they’ve gone completely. My top priority is you all getting out alive.” Seonghwa said and Taehyun hummed and the door slid open; Seonghwa walked out and heard it slam shut behind him, the multiple locks clicking shut, indicating that no one apart from Taehyun could open the door, neither from the inside nor out. 

“I’m opening the main gates, Boss.” Taehyun said and then Seonghwa heard it; that metal thump that always signified someone was entering their headquarters. Seonghwa took a deep breath because he was going to finally be confronting the demons of Yunho’s past ~ the very thing that had been troubling Yunho for so long. He strode into the main room and immediately came face to face with a man pointing a gun in his direction, a woman and small child standing beside him; the small child looked scared and sad ~ this must’ve been the baby Yunho was talking about when he had first arrived. The brother he thought he had abandoned and left alone in his cruel neighbourhood. 

“Where is Jeong Yunho?” He snarled and Seonghwa calmly reached up and used his finger to point the gun at the opposite wall. “And don’t even think about playing any games.” He snapped before Seonghwa could even produce any words. 

“And why are you looking for him?” Seonghwa countered, seeing the man’s eyes faltering for a second, trying to come up with an excuse on why he wanted Yunho. “And don’t you bullshit me with the crap you’re about to spew because I know exactly why you want my brother.” Seonghwa said and the little boy stared at Seonghwa in surprise. 

“Hyung has another brother?” He asked in question, looking lost and Seonghwa spared him a glance. 

“No.” Seonghwa said. “Yunho is my brother, not by blood, but by choice.” Seonghwa explained and the little boy pursed his lips, looking at his parents, who just ignored him in favour of glaring at Seonghwa. 

“He’s not your anything!” The woman shouted suddenly, stalking forward until she was standing next to her husband, another gun being aimed at Seonghwa and the latter pushed away the urge itching him to take out his knife and just cut a message into the skins; warning them never to come into his home and demand things of him, telling what is and isn’t his and what he can and can’t do. 

“I suggest you put those weapons away, Mr and Mrs Jeong.” Seonghwa said with a sneer and the little boy whimpered, scuttling away to the corner of the room and away from the violence he knew would break out ~ he could only pray that the stranger facing his parents would be okay. Seonghwa watched them glare at him, not moving. “I have nothing to do with Jeong Yunho anymore, and now you know this information, I suggest you back away and get out of my house before you regret your decisions on intruding here. You have no idea who you have decided to deal with, Mr and Mrs Jeong.” Seonghwa said, lowly, so the little boy didn’t hear. He still could feel disbelief that Yunho’s parents even thought of bringing a little kid to a place they knew might end in a bloodbath. 

“And if we don’t?” Mr Jeong challenged and Seonghwa was quick to whip out a pistol from his jacket, taking aim and shooting the male in the shoulder. He cried out in pain and the little boy yelped, running behind a pillar and covering his ears with his tiny hands. Seonghwa felt a tiny bit of guilt for that but he didn’t let it show on his face nor in his body language. 

“You’ll get way more of that.” Seonghwa snarled, harshly and Mrs Jeong watched him warily before walking to her husband and helping him to the door, about to open her mouth and call for the little boy when Seonghwa interrupted her. “Oh, and the child stays with me if you want to make it out of here alive.” Seonghwa said, making the woman’s mouth part slightly, but then she swore at hit, spat on the ground and sauntered out, her husband following closely behind, clutching his shoulder, face twisted in pain. “Taehyun, shut the gates and scan the little kid for any devices.” Seonghwa said and Taehyun did what he was told, the machine clicking to say that there were no bugs hidden. All the while he worked, Taehyun didn’t say a word and Seonghwa was content with that. 

“Yunnie.” The little boy whispered, rocking backwards and forward, clutching his ears and Seonghwa inched towards him, placing his arms on the smaller male's shoulder. The little boy yelped and scrambled back, reminding Seonghwa so much of Yunho when he was a little kid. 

“What’s your name?” Seonghwa asked, already knowing the answer, but asking it anyway to get the little kid to relax, which it did slightly. The little boy glanced at him. 

“I’m … I’m Jeong Sungho. I’m nine years old.” He said and Seonghwa hummed. 

“Successor and greatness; it suits you Sungho-ah.” Seonghwa said, making Sungho smiled shyly and then the boy was back to being afraid. 

“Are you going to kill me?” He whispered and Seonghwa shook his head, staring fondly at the younger. 

“I actually wanted you to meet one of best friends.” Seonghwa murmured, so as not to frighten him and Sungho looked up, eyeing him with something akin to suspicion before he nodded slowly and held out his arms. “You want to me to pick you up?” Seonghwa asked in shock and Sungho nodded once again, eyes filled with fear but then it vanished just as quickly when Seonghwa smiled and swooped him into his arms, holding him close. Despite his age, Sungho was small and extremely skinny and Seonghwa felt his hatred for Yunho’s parents bubble because how could anyone ever starve a kid? Or anyone for that matter? 

“Do you think he’s alive?” Seonghwa heard Wooyoung ask and he heard Yeosang release a shaky breath, sniffling and refrained to urge to bang on the door and shout that he was alright and okay. 

“He’s … I …" Yeosang trailed off and they heard Taehyun sigh up above. 

“You really are dumbasses, having no faith in Seonghwa.” Taehyun chuckled before he opened up the door and Seonghwa saw the worried faces of his family and Hongjoong’s teammates staring back at him. Sungho buried his face into Seonghwa’s neck when Seonghwa’s friends suddenly started talking at the same time. 

“Shut it.” Seonghwa growled and Sungho flinched into his neck. Seonghwa walked into the room and the door swung shut, not locking it shut, but still letting it close. “Yunho, sweetie, I want you to meet someone.” Seonghwa said and Yunho looked up at him, getting to his feet and finally glancing at the boy in his arms. Sungho looked up and blinked at Yunho. 

“Yunnie-hyung?” Sungho whispered and Yunho choked on silent tears, reaching forward, but the faltering in his steps entirely. 

“Yunho, it’s okay. They can’t hurt you anymore, you’re safe.” Seonghwa reassured and passed Sungho to Yunho, who took him in his arms gingerly before bursting into tears and hugging his younger brother closer, sniffling loudly. Seonghwa walked to Wooyoung and sat down on the bed next to him placing a hand on Wooyoung’s thigh. “The same goes for you, Wooyoung, you’re going to be fine because they cannot reach you anymore. I’m so, so proud of you and how far you’ve come.” Seonghwa said, pulling Wooyoung closer and Wooyoung buried himself in Seonghwa’s arms, shutting his eyes and letting out a deep breath. 

“Thank you.” He whispered and then nothing else was said. 

~/~/~

Hongjoong and his teammates ended up staying at Seonghwa’s headquarters as they hadn’t really gotten down to talking about their business and the like because of all the distractions and events that had transpired. Seonghwa eventually had gotten to talking to Hongjoong later that night about his plan and afterwards, Hongjoong had retired to one of the guest's rooms, leaving Seonghwa sat in the same place, working his ass off the whole night, not even stopping to sleep. 

“Shouldn’t you go up to him?” Seonghwa heard Mingi ask one of his friends, who snorted, and Seonghwa would recognize his voice anywhere ~ Mingi was talking to Wooyoung and Yunho if the sigh of the elder was anything to go on. Seonghwa ignored them and continued to work, reading over the blueprints of the buildings, highlighting the different escape routes and entrances. Seonghwa glanced up for a second, only to see everyone standing there, except Yeosang.

“Just wait until Sangie comes along. Seonghwa doesn't listen to anyone apart from him.” Yunho explained quietly and Wooyoung hummed in agreement as Yeosang’s soft footsteps were heard and he walked into the living room, completely ignoring the others standing five feet away, watching the scene that was about to transpire. Yeosang stifled a yawn with his sweater, creating a soft halo around himself. 

“You weren’t next to me when I woke up, Hwa.” Yeosang said, gently taking the tools out of Seonghwa’s hands and placing them onto the table, carefully extracting Seonghwa’s fingers from his hair; the fingers that were gripping the strands just a little too tight. “You don’t have to work all night, baby, there are others in the house that can help. You don’t have to do everything alone,” Yeosang continued, placing himself on Seonghwa’s lap and kissing his cheek, giggling when Seonghwa’s nose scrunched cutely. 

“I need to get this part done, Sangie.” Seonghwa said and Yeosang hummed, stretching his arms over Seonghwa's shoulders, staring at the wall behind the latter in thought. It was as though he was thinking over something and then he glanced down, locking eyes with Seonghwa and a small smile tilted his lips upwards. 

“Later.” Yeosang said, kissing the corner of Seonghwa's mouth gently, eyes filled with amusement as Seonghwa pouted. Yeosang touched the prominent frown lines atop Seonghwa’s forehead and tutted. “I swear the way you’re going to go is by stress and not by getting shot and I hate to say it, but that’s a pretty boring way to go.” Yeosang stated, dryly, before yelping when Seonghwa's cold hands slipped inside his shirt, warm breath fanning across the expanse of his neck. 

“At least I’ll go knowing what it was love someone as perfect as you.” He breathed and Yeosang's breath hitched, stopping completely in its wake and then it restarted when Seonghwa kissed a pathway down his throat and collarbone, over the expanse of skin that wasn’t covered by Yeosang’s oversized t-shirt. Yeosang giggled when Seonghwa's hair tickled his jaw and nudged Seonghwa away playfully. 

“You’re so corny.” Yeosang laughed and Seonghwa chuckled, staring at Yeosang fondly. 

“You were the one that agreed to date this corny guy.” He pointed out and Yeosang hummed in agreement, fingers twisting in Seonghwa's hair for a moment before he was gazing back into Seonghwa's beautiful eyes. Yeosang had always enjoyed staring at Seonghwa: his eyes most especially because there were so many secrets and so many things to discover that just one glimpse could get anyone hooked. 

“So, I was.” Yeosang murmured, kissing Seonghwa on the mouth, ignoring Yunho when he cleared his throat and giving Wooyoung the finger when he made kissy noises in the background.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've gotten inspirations from Shadowhunters, but this isn't a Shadowhunter story, they AREN'T Nephilim, so I just put this in the notes because you will see slight references to them. There's a reason for this and it'll be explained in future updates, especially the first tiny part. 
> 
> I hope you angel's enjoy the story! <3

A man dressed in all black walked across the dirt, the ground cracking beneath him as soon as one foot pressed against the Earth. His eyes, although sewn shut with string, were ever seeing, guiding him across the courtyard and through the gates of the land that opened up for him. The gates connected with the brick wall with a crack and the man wondered just how long the walls would hold up for with every visit, they were edging towards withering away completely and crumbling to rubble. 

“Sir.” Due to his eyes being sewn shut, all his other senses were stronger, picking up the sounds. In the beginning he had been overwhelmed, which was to be accepted having just lost his eyesight, but over time he had adjusted, just like everyone would in their old age. He heard a curse from farther away and figured that the host of the building had been informed of his sudden arrival. 

“Mr Jung, it’s a pleasure.” 

~/~/~

Wooyoung twirled the dagger in his hands, around his fingers, watching it as it spun as if it was mesmerised by the beauty of it being completely unaffected in mid-air. But, Wooyoung was reminded that he had company and that he was currently sitting with said company at the table, looking up and seeing everyone’s eyes focused on him. Seonghwa looked mildly concerned, eyes close to understanding whilst Yeosang just looked utterly speechless because if the male was right, Wooyoung was falling back into old habits.

“Woo, I called your name six times.” Seonghwa said, softly and Wooyoung hummed, beginning to twirl the blade again between his fingers, noticing Horizon’s eyes on him, clearly wondering what the fuck was going on with him. “I would like you to eat something, Wooyoung, I know times have been tough lately, but you need to keep your energy up.” Seonghwa told him, noticing that Wooyoung didn’t move an inch or make any indication he was going to do so. Yunho shifted in his seat at the silence, used to it, it seemed, but not entirely comfortable with it. 

“I don’t want to.” Wooyoung said, fully well knowing he sounded like a right brat in the moment, but still going ahead and saying it anyway. Yeosang took a deep breath and stared at his best friends, placing his cutlery onto the table and folding his arms, placing his elbows on the table and leaning forward. He tried to get a better look at Wooyoung's face, but his black hair that he had been growing out was concealing his eyes; which was ridiculous considering the fact that Wooyoung's eyes were the most revealing feature in his whole face. 

“Well, you have to.” Seonghwa stated and when Yunho moved his food around his plate, Seonghwa glanced at him, gaze soon focusing back onto Wooyoung, seeing him still spinning the knife. “This has happened for far too long, Wooyoung, and I am not about to go and let yourself do what your parents did to you.” Seonghwa hissed and Wooyoung spun the dagger in his hands before plunging it into the table, wood cracking around the blades sharp edge. Like the metal, Wooyoung's eyes were glittering dangerously.

“Do not mention my parents, Seonghwa, I’m warning you.” Wooyoung growled out and Seonghwa eyed him for a moment with thought before Yeosang was reaching for his hand, squeezing it tightly. Wooyoung barely noticed the way they shared a glance and the way Horizon was currently staring at him. Yunho breathed out deeply and placed his chopsticks onto the table, standing up quietly. 

“Excuse me, I’ll be in library, studying.” Yunho whispered, voice undeniably quivering, a stark contrast to the electric tension that was hanging in the air. Wooyoung stared at Yunho as he exited the room, an uncomfortable silence following suit. 

“I’ll go exercise then.” Wooyoung murmured, standing up and making to exit his chair when Seonghwa's head snapped up, glaring at Wooyoung warningly. Yeosang put his hand over his eyes, lips quivering as if it physically pained him to see Wooyoung like this, hurting but suffering silently. 

“Sit. Now.” Seonghwa gritted out and Wooyoung slowly sat, yanking the dagger out of the wood before beginning to twirl it around his fingers once more, seeing the crack in the table, a future distance memory they were going to remember every time they took a seat to eat together. “I want you to eat.” Seonghwa said, lowering his tone until it was utterly soft, so Wooyoung figured he couldn’t argue anymore and grabbed his chopsticks, stabbing them into the food Seonghwa had prepared rather harshly. He thought he probably looked like an ungrateful git, but Wooyoung didn’t have the energy to care anymore.

~/~/~

Horizon and Illusion were officially going on their first mission together and Wooyoung was lying if he said he was hating the business and hassle. There was something fulfilling in knowing he had things to do because then he didn’t have time to think and being in his line of work, your own thoughts were dangerous. 

“Here.” Jongho slapped Wooyoung’s new gear into his hands rather gruffly, eyes alight with anger and disgust. The youngest of Horizon was taking quiet a long time to get acquainted and softened in terms of letting Illusion get a small smidge of kindness being sent their way. With a small huff, Wooyoung caught the gear before it could fall to the floor and get dirty, eyeing Jongho in distaste. 

“What's got your panties in a twist?” Wooyoung asked and Jongho pursed his lips, glaring at Wooyoung with fire before shouldering past him, leaving Wooyoung stumbling back into a warm body, hot breath fanning over the expanse of his nape and he shivered at the sensitivity. 

“I should be asking you that, freak.” Jongho hissed silently to himself, but Wooyoung still heard it and Wooyoung stood up straight, ignoring the person behind him and quickly fixed his slumped posture of defeat. He was making it too obvious that he was acting hurt and vulnerable and once again, doing that in his line of work, wasn’t supposed to happen nor be taken lightly before a mission. 

“Don't mind, Jongho, he’s had it hard and doesn’t trust people easily.” A voice said and Wooyoung hummed, sorting through his gear and frowning in distaste at the many layers they had given him; Seonghwa knew he got hot a lot and large items of clothing bothered him when he fought, so this could only be Horizon’s doing. Wooyoung noticed a tag and saw his name written across it; proof that the uniform was his and hadn’t gotten mixed up like he had wished for. 

“Woo ...” Yeosang trailed off when he poked his head into the room, seeing the scene in front of him, eyebrows raising. Even just being in the room a second, Yeosang could feel the tension crackling in the air. “Seonghwa's prohibiting you to go on this mission." Yeosang said and Wooyoung's gear fell out of his hands, the other male catching it before it could hit the floor. 

“He’s what?” Wooyoung whispered and Yeosang leaned on the outside wall, eyes filled with sympathy and understanding. 

“You can’t go on the mission, Woo, and I’m sorry, but that decision is final.” Yeosang repeated, watching Wooyoung struggling to keep his emotions at bay, which was hard considering the fact that Wooyoung had been looking forward to this mission for ages. Now it was being plucked from his fingertips and Wooyoung couldn’t stop it. “Woo, wait!” Yeosang called after him as Wooyoung strode out of the door and angrily stomped to where Seonghwa and the others were residing. 

“Why the fuck is Yeosang telling me I can’t go on this mission?” Wooyoung demanded, seeing Seonghwa look up from the blueprints he was looking at with the others, pointing to a little intersection of escape. Seonghwa was already dressed in his gear and it had been designed so that both of Horizon’s and Illusion's touches were seen in the outfit, a symbol of their merge and alliance. Seonghwa pulled his hand backwards and looked up at Wooyoung's fuming figure, Yeosang and San slipping into the room behind him hastily. 

“Because you cannot.” Seonghwa said, straightening upwards and staring at Wooyoung, tilting his head. “Do you have a problem with that, Wooyoung?” Seonghwa asked and Wooyoung gritted his teeth together, displeased with the way Seonghwa was talking to him, his tone so cold and distant that Wooyoung instantly knew what it was about. 

“You can’t stop me, Seonghwa.” Wooyoung growled out, taking a step forward, but something was stopping him; it was the glint in Seonghwa's eyes that stopped him from making a move and attacking his leader.

“That is true.” Seonghwa hummed, eyes alight as he studied Wooyoung. “But I know for a fact that you won’t go against my orders and you staying here, safe, is an order.” Seonghwa said, lowly and Wooyoung turned slightly to glare at Seonghwa, chest heaving in an attempt to calm himself down because Wooyoung longed to go into a fit of rage and hurl things at Seonghwa's face, to hurt him, to — Wooyoung quickly banished the thoughts. 

“This isn’t about me being safe, Seonghwa, you know it isn’t!” Wooyoung cried out, mentally slapping himself for letting his guard down for even just a moment, Seonghwa could read him like an open book and now was nothing different. Seonghwa bit his lower lip in thought. “You know something and you’re not telling me, for whatever reason, I have no idea.” Wooyoung pointed out and Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. 

“Your mentality is unstable, Wooyoung, I can feel it.” Seonghwa said, reaching forward as if going to brush the stray strands of hair from Wooyoung's face, but Wooyoung jerked away, eyes widening as Seonghwa realised his mistake. He drew his arm back with pursed lips. “You’re becoming distant again and I can see it in your eyes, in your smile and in the lines of stress on your face. You have been thinking of your parents.” Seonghwa told him, Wooyoung hearing Yeosang exhale. 

“You didn’t think to tell me this, Hwa?” Wooyoung heard Yeosang ask, but he was too busy glaring at Seonghwa to properly hear what came out of his best friends mouth next. 

“This has absolutely nothing to do with them, Seonghwa, and I told you to never mention my parents again. They’re dead to me.” Wooyoung spat, making Seonghwa chuckle, a resigned sigh coming from Yeosang and a shaky breath from Yunho. Wooyoung heard one of Horizons members making a small noise of confusion and resisted the urge to glance to see who it was. 

“If they were dead to me, you wouldn’t be thinking nor stressing about them ~”

“Do not question me like you know me.” Wooyoung interrupted, tone sharp and icy. Seonghwa quietened down, staring at Wooyoung with a hint of surprise, hearing the click of the speakers in the room on the far edges of the room. 

“Boss, you better get going if you want to get into the house in time without being spotted.” Taehyun's voice rang out and Seonghwa glanced at the camera's, nodding as a sign he heard him loud and clear. Taehyun cleared his throat overhead. “Oh, and Woo, Yeonjun wants to talk to you in the training room.” Taehyun said, referring to Wooyoung and the said male scoffed, turning away. 

“Tell Yeonjun it can wait, I’m going for a walk.” Wooyoung said, fully well hearing Seonghwa harsh incline of breath from his lungs. 

“Uh, no you are not, Wooyoung. And that’s an order.” Seonghwa snapped and Wooyoung glared at him, spinning around and walking to the door, forcing it open before glancing over his shoulder.

“Well, Boss, consider your order invalid." Wooyoung seethed, slamming the door forcefully behind him, smirking in satisfaction at the shocked whispers and calls of his name. Wooyoung strode down the hallways, black jumper bellowing behind him. 

~/~/~ 

Wooyoung slipped out of the back building, fully clothed in gear, eyes alight with mischief and excitement at disobeying Seonghwa’s orders. It was something that Wooyoung liked to do, but not often, just once in a while despite how hard Yeosang and Yunho liked to insist he always stirred up trouble wherever he walked. The soft snap of a twig brought his attention to in front of him, shocking him out of his own thoughts and he groaned, displeased at the sight of Yeonjun standing with his arms crossed, foot tapping on the leaved ground. 

“Going somewhere?” Yeonjun hissed, taking a step forward and grabbing Wooyoung before he could form an answer, yanking him along and back into Illusions headquarters. He ignored Wooyoung’s choked yelp and his grunt of pain at Yeonjun's nails digging crescent moon shapes into his flesh. 

“I was going to study!” Wooyoung protested, annoyed at being dragged down the corridors like a rag doll being thrown around.

“Looking like that?” Yeonjun scoffed. “Err, yeah, I don’t think so, honey. I know you and you don’t look like that when you go study.” Yeonjun told him, dragging him to a door and opening it up before shoving Wooyoung inside. “You look like you want to blow off steam.” Yeonjun mused and Wooyoung raised an eyebrow, quirkiness his head to the side. 

“And who are you to help with that?” Wooyoung asked, seeing Yeonjun grow closer until they could see the tiny flecks in each other’s irises. With a sigh, Wooyoung stared at Yeonjun in thought. “What do you have in mind?” Wooyoung questioned, watching as Yeonjun smirked. 

“Let's have some fun, shall we?” 

~/~/~

Yeonjun hummed from where he was laying on Wooyoung's bare chest, eyes glued to the wall opposite them. Wooyoung's hands carded through Yeonjun's blue locks, thoughts in disarray, filled with past memories, his fight with Seonghwa and a sharp jawed, handsome male. 

“So, your parents are still bothering you, huh?” Yeonjun asked, quietly and Wooyoung sighed to himself, hands falling still on Yeonjun's head, providing a muffled whine from the latter. Wooyoung patted his head once, gnawing on his lips for a moment longer before finally deciding to answer Yeonjun. 

“No,” Wooyoung whispered, seeing Yeonjun peak up at him through thick eyelashes, eyebrows raising in disbelief. 

“No? Are you sure? You don’t seem very certain.” Yeonjun pointed out the obvious and Wooyoung chuckled down at Yeonjun, smiling softly at the elder. Yeonjun was a dear friend of his and whatever was happening between them was strictly platonic, just a way to blow of stress and stream and despite Yeonjun being an amazing and caring person, Wooyoung could never fall for him. Yeonjun had stated many times that he did it for the pleasure and not for how he felt with Wooyoung as he would much rather prefer to do it with a guy he liked, but they both knew that romance wasn’t something Seonghwa was really keen on. Seonghwa had seen many incidents of loved ones being used as bait and being killed for no other reason than being a love interest of one of the members of a rival gang. 

“Definitely sure.” Wooyoung chuckled, making Yeonjun giggled to himself, cuddling closer to Wooyoung and ignoring the muffled protests of Wooyoung saying he was sweaty and stunk. 

“Don’t let them get to you, Woo, you have us all here to talk to.” Yeonjun murmured. Wooyoung sighed to himself, clutching Yeonjun tighter.

“Thanks, Junnie.” Wooyoung said to the elder and Yeonjun shrugged lightly. 

“I'm the best, I know.” 

~/~/~ 

Wooyoung was in the library when the others came back from their mission; he didn’t even know they were inside the building until Taehyun's voice rang out from overhead. He sounded frantic, voice quivering and cracking as he tried to notify Wooyoung and the others in the building of what was going on. 

“Guys, Seonghwa's been shot.” Wooyoung dropped the book he was holding and rushed out of the library, tripping over slightly and catching himself on the banister, a sharp edge cutting across his flesh. He hissed out a breath of pain before setting off into a sprint and heading towards the medical bay, crashing through the door. Once they spotted Wooyoung, the others turned to stare at him in surprise and shock. Seonghwa was being fixed up by Yeosang, tears in the latter’s eyes but never falling. 

“Woo.” Wooyoung heard Yunho breath out, and Wooyoung's lungs tightened and he turned, rushing to the bin and puking his guts up. He fell to his knees, clutching the edge of the bin; he couldn’t get the images out of his mind, the clammy files, the darkened veins and young lives being taken. The room fell quiet and Wooyoung hiccupped into the bin, turning and collapsing onto the floor, back against the wall as he pushed the bangs out of his face. 

“I'm sorry.” Wooyoung whispered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve before crawling to his feet and stumbling out of the door, retreating outside to where he would go whenever he was stressed. He headed to the gardens and shoved the door open, gasping through his tears the whole way, feeling like he couldn’t breathe the longer and farther he got along the path. When he came to a stop, he was in a bed of roses and he staggered to the ground, slamming his palms and his fists down onto the damp mud, shouting profanities and screaming at the floor for his nightmares and for constantly taking away what he loved. 

Wooyoung slumped to the floor, sobbing into the ground, smearing his clothes with wet mud, but he didn’t give a damn for he felt like the world was caving in and dirty clothes was nothing compared to the feeling he was experiencing. The roses around him suffocated him with their scent and he suddenly stopped crying, stopped shouted and fell sideways. His side flared up in pain. 

Wooyoung blacked out. 

~/~/~

When Wooyoung woke up, it was dark and he couldn’t remember what had happened previously. Everything was a blur and so he stumbled to his feet, wobbling slightly on two legs and stared ahead. He could hear someone shouting his name and figured that the noise was what had woken him up; he rubbed his arms and shook from the cold, feeling caked and sticky with wet mud on his clothes and painting his face and hair, dry in some places.  
  
He heard another shout and the frantic tone in the male’s voice made Wooyoung take shaky steps forward, not really knowing where he was going because of the darkness, but still taking steps to tell them that he was alright. He couldn’t remember anything that had happened to get him to this point; sticky with mud and sore heels, a croaky throat and red eyes. He must’ve been really upset because his brain felt like it was melting inside his head and his eyes felt like they had been burning, just being put out of their misery recently. 

“Wooyoung!” He drifted closer to the sound of someone’s voice and eyed the shadows creeping from side to side, highlighting that someone was there. Wooyoung wobbled to the closer thing, a bush about a few meters away and when his hand brushed the bush, he sharply pulled away, blood dripping down his palm. A thorn bush — he didn’t remember ever seeing one in the garden before. 

“Yeosang? Yunho? Hyung?” Wooyoung called, voice scratchy. To make matters worse his knees were shaking badly and his strength was withering like the flowers that eventually died from being plucked in the gardens. Wooyoung heard rushed footsteps and called out louder, feeling like someone was dragging nails down his oesophagus when he raised it an octave higher. 

“Wooyoung!” Strong arms were suddenly wrapping around him and lifting him up bridal style and carrying him through the bushes and vines of flowers. “I got you, baby, don’t worry.” There was a kiss to his temple and it was like a butterfly, touching but so soft it was as though you couldn’t feel any of the pressure. The last thought before Wooyoung's consciousness faded into shadows was the fact that the male carrying him wasn’t one of his members. 

~/~/~

Wooyoung woke to someone softly shaking him awake, his peaceful slumber being ruined and he tilted his head away from the hand, clenching his eyes tighter. He hoped that if he closed them tight enough, the figure would take the hint and hopefully take a hike at the same time. However, it seemed his attempts were in vain for the male kept shaking him, gently like he had all the patience in the world. 

“Five more minutes, Sangie, please.” Wooyoung begged, shuffling further away from the body, feeling the warmth radiating from their body dwindling the further he drifted away. He itched to reach out for the warmth, but he couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed nor ask for cuddles. 

“You have to fill your stomach, sunshine.” A velvety voice said and Wooyoung's eyes slid open when he noticed that the voice wasn’t Yeosang’s neither was it one of his members — it was the boy stuck on his mind for the past few days, San. Wooyoung eyed him warily, taking not of the tray on the desk behind him, filled with food and drinks. 

“What are you here for?” Wooyoung asked, voice protesting vastly at the strain and he winced, focusing in on the slight twitch of San's features when he noticed the pain taking over. He reached for one of the drinks on the tray and held it out to Wooyoung, the latter taking it with a soft thanks. “What is this?” He whispered, not trusting himself to raise his voice any higher. 

“It’s a mixture of different herbs to soothe your sore throat. I noticed it when you were calling out for your friends last night.” San told him, hand coming up and brushing the fallen bangs from Wooyoung's face, guiding them to behind his ear. Wooyoung stared at the male as he did so, seeing the corner of San's lips tilt upwards into a half smile and realised that a little pop of a dimple was forming. 

“But why?” Wooyoung asked, curiously, not being able to stop himself and San’s smile dampened for a moment. He scrutinised Wooyoung for a moment, trying to find if Wooyoung was really being serious or not and finding that, indeed, Wooyoung was not joking around with him. 

“After the incident?” San prompted, but Wooyoung still gave him that innocent look as though he had no clue on what the hell San was going on about. San sighed and gestured to the space beside Wooyoung. “Do you mind if I ...?” He trailed off into silence, but Wooyoung got the gist and opened the covers, letting San slip his shoes off and climb into the bed next to him, chuckling when Wooyoung automatically drifted closer to his body, searching for the heat source. 

“Are you going to tell me what happened now?” Wooyoung murmured, feeling rather than seeing San shake his head and it made Wooyoung interested enough that he lifted his head. He stared at the features of San's face, picking out little details, every line, every scar and every crease in his face told a story that Wooyoung wanted to know about.

“I don’t think you’re ready for that.” San said, quietly, voice sounding stiff as though he was about to snap and Wooyoung just hummed and saddled closer to the male, San giving no protests and lifting his arm up, letting Wooyoung snuggle into his chest. As Yeosang liked to say, Wooyoung loved skipping steps of friendship and San just looked so damn cuddly that he couldn’t help but melt into his embrace. His warm, muscular arms felt like heaven, like a soft, gentle teddy bear. 

“Okay,” Wooyoung whispered, drink still clutched in his hand and he took a sip, loving the soothing of his throat like the herbs were caressing his damaged vocal cords. San watched on with a smile as Wooyoung drank the glass, a small pout forming after he had finished. His throat felt so much better, an instance response to the pain he had felt before. 

“It’s my Eomma's recipe.” He said, fingers about to card through Wooyoung’s hair but he stopped himself before his fingertips could graze the black hair of the younger, sticking to rubbing calming circles into Wooyoung shoulder. Wooyoung didn’t seem to notice the slip up, licking his lips before glancing up at San, eyes filled with so much curiosity that San had a hard time focusing on tearing his eyes away. 

“You’re still in contact with your family. Do they know what you do?” Wooyoung inquired, neither sounded disgusting nor confused, just interested and that fact made San's tense shoulders relax against the bedpost. 

“I’m still in contact with my family, yes.” San said, smiling down at Wooyoung’s form. “And, yes, my family knows what I do because it would be quite suspicious if I came home with lots of money and didn’t inform them of where I was.” San explained, hand raising higher for a moment and then he was brushing his fingertips against the hair on the back of Wooyoung’s nape, making the male sigh in content, shuddering in pleasure at the feeling — San watched on in fascination at the way Wooyoung reacted to his touch. 

“And they gave no arguments at the way you wanted to live?” Wooyoung asked and San pursed his lips at a distant memory, before smiling. The memory he was thinking of had been hard to live through, but thinking back on it just made him chuckle at the way everyone reacted to his sudden determination that seemed to have come from nowhere whatsoever. 

“They gave arguments, of course, but when I explained why I was in the gang, they eventually caved and even came to understand me.” San told Wooyoung, brushing the hair away from Wooyoung's eyes once more when he started blinking continuously. “Come on, you need food.” San said, sliding out of the bed and to his feet, grabbing the tray, placing it on the sheets and then sitting on the edge of the bed soon after. Wooyoung watched him do it, shifting slightly to get into a better position, so the food wouldn’t stain his clothes nor the sheets. 

“Seonghwa never makes pancakes.” Wooyoung muttered and San smiled against his better self, slapping and screaming in at him not to.

“Jongho actually made it. Jongho loves pancakes and makes us suffer through his obsessions, like arm wrestling.” San mused, watching Wooyoung rip off a piece of pancake and handed it to San, the latter taking it with surprise, but Wooyoung didn’t notice, that or he decided to ignore San's wide-eyed look sent his way. 

“How long have you lived with Horizon?” Wooyoung asked, trying to make small talk and San, recognising what he was doing and trying not to make it awkward, cleared his throat. He thought back and made the connections. 

“Not until recently actually. I lived with my parents up until a couple of months ago.” San told the younger and Wooyoung stopped eating for a moment, cheeks coming to a stop and he stared at San incredulously. 

“Really?” He murmured before resuming eating and stuffing his face, the dull ache of hunger digging at his gut. He hadn’t felt the feeling in years, it felt like centuries and the ache was not a welcome feeling. 

“Yeah. I didn’t want to leave my family because I love them and they’re the only people I’ve ever known since I was born that have actually stayed.” San said, staring down at the pancakes and accepting another piece of pancake Wooyoung gifted him, offering him some syrup, to which he accepted once more, murmuring his thanks. 

“Your family seems incredibly nice.” Wooyoung stated, no malice: it was just like he was stating a normalised fact and San nodded, chewing slowly on the piece of pancake he had placed in his mouth. 

“You know, you remind me of my Eomma, Wooyoung.” San told the boy, watching the surprise take over his face, pancakes laying forgotten for a long moment as Wooyoung just stared at him in shock. Then Wooyoung exhaled and switched positions, folding his legs instead of sitting on them, gazing at San in interest.

“How?” He asked and San chuckled, before reaching forward and placing his hand over the flesh of Wooyoung heart, feeling it thrum softly under his touch. 

“You have the same heart.” He said to the boy, pulling backwards and watching the way Wooyoung’s lips upturned, a shy smile curling at his mouth; San wanted to imprint it into his brain and just never let it go, resting on the edges of his memories forever. “My Eomma may make rash decisions, as you do and I have seen you done, but the reasons are so ... admirable that it has me wondering if everyone in the world was like that, then surely the world would be brighter than the sun.” San said, seeing Wooyoung giggle to himself, curling inwards on himself just slightly. 

“The sun, huh?” He mused and San nodded, face filled with sincerity and the emotion caught Wooyoung off guard for a second, his eyes wandering San's features. The curve of his nose, his sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones, the shadows on his cheeks and the light in his eyes; those were what drew him in, but it was San's words that hooked him, not letting go nor releasing him and he couldn’t say he minded.

“Yes. My Eomma and you are so bright. Your radiance practically oozes and everyone’s eyes are drawn to you, your smiles are so beautiful and your laughs are like bells tinkling.” San gushed, hearing Wooyoung giggle and seeing him grin brightly. 

“Bells tinkling?” Wooyoung burst out, laughing out loud and San couldn’t help but join in, loving the way their laughs mixed together in perfect harmony. Wooyoung’s eyes when he laughed was the cutest thing San had seen and he once again had to resist from reaching forward and embracing Wooyoung with his muscular arms.

“Yeah, it suits you.” He said before there was a soft knock on the door, San’s teammate stepping into the room, not even glancing at Wooyoung. 

“Hongjoong wants to see you, San-hyung.” It was Jongho, face set into a cold mask and lips pressed into a thin line. “But before you go, have you eaten something yet?” Jongho asked, brushing the red hair from his face, watching San nod at him. 

“Yes, Wooyoung gave me half his pancakes and his syrup!” San said, excitedly, seeing Wooyoung smile at him out of the corner of his eye; it seemed that Wooyoung was starting to warm up to him and San was already feeling giddy from the conversation he had with Wooyoung. 

“Alright, well, you better go and see Joong before he kicks your ass.” Jongho said, slipping put of the room, ignoring Wooyoung completely and shutting the door behind him, leaving San to turn to Wooyoung with a small smile. 

“I better get going. I’ll take this if you’re finished?” San asked, uncertainly and Wooyoung nodded, letting San take the tray and make his way to leave. “Get some rest, Wooyoung, you’ve been through a lot whether you know it or not.” San said, reminding Wooyoung of the past and the missing gap in his memory, but oddly, San's radiant smile seemed to blind out the shadows, leaving Wooyoung less worried than he would’ve been if he had been alone. 

“Thank you, San.” Wooyoung whispered and San smiled at him, opening up the door and slipping out. 

“You’re welcome, Wooyoung.” He said, the click of the door the only indicator San had been there, minus the fast drumming of Wooyoung’s heart against his ribcage, but the boy didn’t acknowledge that, shuffling into a lying position. Soon after, he drifted off to sleep with a certain male on his mind, one that had a way with words and soothing drinks to take care of people with.

~/~/~

A couple of days passed and Wooyoung wasn’t any wiser on what had happened days before, still waiting for someone to come and explain to him on just what the hell was going on. San hadn’t come to see him either, in fact no one had come to see him whilst he was in his bedroom, still recovering from the close call of losing his voice completely and the mass amounts of exhaustion still seeping inside him. 

When Wooyoung finally was well enough, he climbed out of his bed, quickly making it because Seonghwa would go batty at him if he didn’t. He changed out of his pyjamas and into normal clothing, creeping out of his room and into the hallway, looking around, but it was like the place was abandoned. There was no noise, no sound, no laughter or voices, nothing to indicate that anyone apart from himself living in the building the past few days. 

“Hello?” Wooyoung called, fear creeping into his voice the further he walked down the hall, yet only darkness and silence greeted him back. As crazy as it was, Wooyoung felt like he was living back in his old house with his parents; constantly alone and afraid, being contained from the outside world, hidden away from society. Wooyoung repeated his previous action, calling out for his members and even for the members of Horizon, their friendly — Jongho excluded — alliance members. 

Once Wooyoung stepped into the gardens, he finally heard indicators of life. It was someone laughing and Wooyoung drifted closer to the sound, eyes hooking onto the scene in front of him when he stepped into a certain wide berth, flowers creating beautiful walls around him. It had been Jongho laughing, a gorgeous smile lighting up his face as Mingi goofed around, Hongjoong laying on the chair that Wooyoung liked to sit on when he was feeling particularly overwhelmed. San was nowhere to be found, his lack of presence was vastly obvious as there was a giant spot in between Mingi and Jongho, the spot where San would’ve been sitting. 

“What are you doing here?” It was Jongho who noticed him first, expression going cold immediately and the dazzling smile slid off his face; a sight Wooyoung was sad to see go. Wooyoung’s hands crept up his arms and his nails dug into his flesh, blood starting to form when he clenched them too tight, but it almost felt like a relief, the pain shocking him away from his thoughts of darkness and shadows, of endless pits and streams of tears. 

“I couldn’t find anyone in the house and this is where I go when I feel ... alone and useless.” Wooyoung whispered, seeing Hongjoong sit up slightly straighter, eyebrows raising up his forehead as he stared at Wooyoung. 

“Seonghwa mentioned something about this being your garden?” Hongjoong said, however it sounded more like a question than a statement and Wooyoung could feel anxiety slide up his spine, feet shuffling back, nails digging in harder to his flesh. The smell of the flowers calmed him down slightly though, the familiar scent seeping into his bones and he nodded.

“I take care of the flowers because they were the only thing I was allowed to see when I was trapped with my parents." Wooyoung said, quietly and watched awareness creep onto Hongjoong’s face, a hand being slapped over his mouth as San suddenly appeared from the bushes. Jongho’s glare had softened, sensing it was a sensitive topic, whilst Mingi just looked confused. 

“I think you’ve said enough, hyung.” San said and glanced at Wooyoung, smile lighting up his face, which in turn made Wooyoung's worry dampen and diffuse, leaving him smiling back rather timidly. “I’m sorry I didn’t come and see you the last few days; I visited my family.” San said and let go of Hongjoong’s face, lowering his hand away from the latter’s mouth before walking forward and collecting Wooyoung in a hug. 

“You must have missed them after we talked about them then?” Wooyoung asked, feeling just a tad bit surprised at the affection San was showing, but caving into it anyway and wrapping his arms around San's waist, leaning into San’s touch. 

“Yeah,” He said and pulled backwards, patting Wooyoung’s hair down with a grin, the light in his eyes catching Wooyoung and hooking him in once again — just like a few days ago, Wooyoung was mesmerised and he didn’t mind one bit. “I told my family about you and now they want to meet you and your friends.” San giggled, making something flare up in Wooyoung’s chest and for once, it wasn’t negative at interacting with someone’s parents; it felt like a mixture of happiness and excitement, but triple the effect. 

“Why the hell would she want to meet someone like me?” Wooyoung asked, eyebrows knitting together and San frowned, thumbs rubbing away the creases between Wooyoung’s forehead, washing away Wooyoung’s stress with a snap of his fingers. 

“Because you’re my friend!” San exclaimed and Wooyoung drew backwards, entangling himself out of San's embrace and backtracking until he was a few steps away from San's body. He could feel the confused eyes of San’s teammates burning into his skin and he almost fled the scene entirely if it weren’t for his feet feeling like lead and sticking to the floor. 

“F-Friend ...? M-Me?” San tilted his head to the side, blonde tuffs of hair falling in front of his shining eyes at the way Wooyoung stuttered over his own words, tongue-tied. Wooyoung was utterly mystified that San could even see him in such a light; after how he had treated them with so much blatant disrespect and not so much a backwards glance at their feelings. He supposed he deserved his brain feeling like mush and the past days filled with pain and darkness. 

“Yes, friend!” San exclaimed, eyebrows knitting together and then he frowned, the crease running along his forehead becoming deeper, a pop of his dimple peeking out. Wooyoung stared at him with wide eyes, like a child caught stealing cookies in the middle of the night. “I thought ~ I mean a couple of days ago, you and I were happily conversing like old friends, and that’s what I think of you like, an old friend I never had the pleasure to meet for longer than a few minutes.” San explained, the group of males not noticing another man climbing through the bushes and advancing towards them, tear tracks lining his cheeks.

“Wooyoung, you’re awake.” Wooyoung spun at the cracked voice of Yunho, seeing the tall male so damp with negative emotions catching him off guard. It was only when Yunho was rushing at him, did Wooyoung take it within himself to stride forward and meet his friend halfway, embracing him tightly. 

“What happened, Yunho? I ~ I can’t remember anything after we ate and I can't ... I can’t remember, Yunho. What happened? San’s not telling me anything and I just want to know why everyone’s being so secretive and ...” Wooyoung trailed off when Yunho's tight embrace loosened, drawing his eyes up to meet Yunho’s intense gaze. It was there that Wooyoung located so much anguish and hurt and pure agony that he immediately disentangled himself, hands coming to his mouth. 

“Wooyoung ~” Yunho started, but Wooyoung wasn’t listening, Yunho's normally cheerful voice residing to a dull ache in his mind as the realisation finally sunk in. What had happened had something to do with someone getting hurt, nothing else could be shoved into the small compartment of why San was being secretive and had left it to the last possible moment, on why Yunho was in so much pain and why Horizon's members were so much less hostile towards him that usual. It was because he was supposed to be grieving, to be upset.

“Yunho, no, god no. Yunho, please, no ...” Wooyoung breathed, tears beginning to sting his eyes as Yunho reached for him, eyes glossy with emotions he wouldn’t allow to be let loose. It was just like Yeosang did, letting it be recognized that he wasn’t afraid of his emotions, but not letting them overcome and control him. “This can’t be ... oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick ~” Wooyoung gagged, sinking to his knees and he distinctively felt the slightly damp soil beneath his kneecaps, but paid no attention to it. 

“Woo, it’s not your fault you cannot remember anything.” Yunho murmured, sinking down next to him and reaching for his shoulder, hand caressing a smooth circle into his flesh to calm the latter down. It seemed to work for Wooyoung no longer looked as if he was going to puke the limited contents of his stomach along the floor any longer, but he still looked immensely pale against the sunlight slanting on his face and body. 

“What did I do?” Wooyoung whispered, hands coming to his arms and once again, digging his nails into his flesh so hard, he could feel the blood seeping down his arms in thin little lines, as though it was painting his body crimson like an artwork in a museum. Yunho reached for his hands and tugged them away, hearing Wooyoung hiss as his nails dragged along his skin, leaving crescent moon indents and red lines across the smooth expanse of milky skin. 

“Stop that right now!” Yunho snapped, forcing Wooyoung back to reality, a vivid reminder that there was someone there that understood what he was going through. “Seonghwa will survive, in fact he’s on a speedy recovery thanks to Yeosang and despite being bed ridden for now, will be able to walk in a few days. It was a simple gunshot wound to the thigh, nothing we haven’t seen before.” Yunho explained softly, seeing Wooyoung lean into his touch like he was a magnet, a soft smile lighting up the elders face at seeing Wooyoung so relaxed despite being a few feet away from their allies that were only enemies two weeks ago.

“We'll be fine, Wooyoung, Seonghwa’s so strong and he has people that care; nothing will hold him back from fighting for his loved ones. He’d battle death just to stay with us and make us happy.”

~/~/~

Wooyoung and the others were forced to go back to school the next morning with the minority of Seonghwa excluded because of his wound, and Yeosang because of the simple argument that he was the ‘only light in Seonghwa's utter boredom’. So, due to that they were all leaving the house, getting ready for another day at the hellhole they had to spend time in, in order to get a decent education.

“Due to Seonghwa being inactive, there’s a spare bike available which means that one of you two will be using it.” Wooyoung explained, spinning the keys around his fingers, three pairs to be exact, one for each bike. He gazed at Hongjoong and then Jongho, raising an eyebrow as a smirk overtook his features. “Which one of you is it?” Wooyoung asked, hearing Yunho giggle to himself as Jongho raised a hand, still eyeing Wooyoung in distaste, but it was no longer as potent as hatred. 

“That'd be me.” Jongho said gruffly and caught the keys Wooyoung chucked at him, Yunho dancing forward and snatching the other pair away from Wooyoung’s grip. Wooyoung allowed himself to glance around the five in the room, seeing them stare back at him.

“The other three take your pick on who you’re riding on the back of.” Wooyoung said, striding to his prized possession and climbing onto it, turning to the others in time to see Yunho already on his own bike and Hongjoong dragging Jongho to Seonghwa's vehicle parked on the far right. Wooyoung noticed San bound towards him, no hesitation present in his decision as he grinned at Wooyoung and saw Mingi forced to go to Yunho, smiling shyly at the elder. 

“Hey, Wooyoung, I noticed you had a biker jacket. Do you ... I mean can I wear ...?” He trailed off when Wooyoung stared up at him, being at a different level due to sitting down on the bike, eyes shimmering with endearment. 

“Wear my jacket that has my name on it?” Wooyoung inquired, watching San nod to himself, rolling on the balls of his feet, backwards and forwards on a constant repetitive pattern that made Wooyoung’s lips quirk into a small smile. “Of course, you can.” Wooyoung murmured, climbing off his bike and grabbing the jacket from where it was placed next to his helmet and helped San into the material. He realised that San looked quite good in it and couldn’t help the appreciate nod that slipped out, however it was lucky San didn’t seem to notice. 

“Woo, time to get going or we’ll be late ~ again.” Yunho called and Wooyoung rolled his eyes at the hidden settlement behind the elders words, climbing back onto his bike with San following soon after. He handed San the helmet and once he saw it placed over the latter’s head, he quickly did the same with the extra helmet they happened to have spare. Once everyone was ready, Taehyun opened the gates and they sped off towards the school, smoke bellowing behind them along with the harsh thrum of the engines making their marks.

They drove until the trees around the house parted into a wide birth of roads and manmade buildings that creeped higher than any tree nature could ever build. Humans streamed past in blurs of different colours with small stalls of food and clothing doing the same, neon lights just a mere bird in the sky full of clouds. They drove until the gates of the school came into sight, their bikes driving through the huge gap and parking themselves into the numbered spaces.

“That was amazing.” San breathed as he pulled off his helmet, clambering off the bike with a smile imprinted onto his face, taking in Wooyoung as he pulled off his helmet and stared at the excited male. Wooyoung smiled softly at the male in front of him and San noticed, an eyebrow raising. “What happened to nerdy Wooyoung?” San teased, stalking closer until they were so close that they could see each others pores. 

“I figured life is too short to keep playing a nerdy character and especially since that nerdy character isn’t who I am, so why the hell should I be playing it?” Wooyoung said and shrugged to himself, seeing San jerk forward and embrace him in a tight hug; Wooyoung almost fell backwards in shock at the force of it, almost taking his bike down with him. 

“I’m glad. You’re perfect the way you are, Wooyoung.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope ya'll enjoyed reading so far! I'm sorry for the grammatical mistakes if there are any and feel free to comment and give kudos if you would like. 
> 
> Ya'll also should get some popcorn because this is going to be a long ride!! 
> 
> P.S. All their code names all have meanings behind them in their pasts which will be explained in future updates, so look forward to that ;)


End file.
